Chapter 367 Lifetime Contract

   On the evening of the 2nd, the game between the Suns and the Cavaliers began.

Although both former teammates are in the Cavaliers, the Suns are going all out in this game, because the Suns have the Cavaliers' first-round pick this year. The worse the Cavaliers' record is, the more valuable this pick is. Luo's words meant beating to the death.

   In the end, the Suns defeated the Cavaliers and won their 38th victory.

   On the 3rd, the Suns arrived in Washington, ready to challenge the Bullets on the 4th.

   At the same time, the Bulls just played a back-to-back road game with No. 1 and No. 2, and successively defeated the Warriors and Lakers. No. 3 arrived in Denver, ready to challenge the Nuggets.

  Like the Suns, the Bulls also have a very long road game. After playing the Nuggets, they immediately ushered in a back-to-back road game against the Suns and the Warriors.

   On the 4th, the Suns successfully defeated the Bullets and won the 39th victory.

   At the same time, after the back-to-back experience, the Bulls were not physically fit and in poor form. With Pippen missing, they lost to the Nuggets and gained their fifth defeat, with a record of 40 wins and 5 losses.

  The Suns are 39-5, with one game less and the Bulls just half a game away.

   On the 5th, the Suns finally returned to Phoenix, and the Bulls also arrived in the city on the same day.

   On this day, Wang Tiejun finally completed the three-month defensive training. The single defense has been improved by three levels, now it is 97, and the assist defense has been improved by five, and now it is 93.

   The improvement of defense has greatly improved his ability to protect the basket, and at the same time, the guarding of the entire penalty area has also reached a first-class level.

   No. 6, the two teams started to fight.

   In this game, the Suns removed Michael Finley's starting position because the rookie encountered the rookie wall.

In fact, his physical fitness began to have problems before, and he has been adjusting, but his performance is still a little struggling. Now in the second half, the team, at the request of Wang Tiejun, has to make every effort to hit the league's first record, so he can only be removed. main position.

  Robert Horry is back in the starting lineup, playing at the 3.

  The game reached the 8th minute of the last quarter, and the two sides fought 90:101. The Bulls were already 11 points behind. The situation was not good and a timeout was called.

  The game was broadcast nationally by ABC TV, and Bill Walton said: "The Bulls lacked Pippen on the outside, which had a great impact. The strength of the two sides reversed immediately, and the Suns had the upper hand.

The main problem with   Pippen's absence is that he lacks a general who averages 20 points per game, and his scoring ability is weakened. Without an offensive playmaker, the perimeter defense has collapsed in half, and now only Jordan can control the ball.

Ron Harper's offensive ability is now declining. The Suns are concentrating on dealing with Jordan. Ben Wallace and Horry are helping to defend. Whether he goes to the left or the right, he can always encounter one of these two people. Now Jordan is still attacking. He played quite well, scoring 31 points in more than three quarters, but the efficiency was not too high, and the shooting percentage was 47%, which was lower than the average data of this season. "

John Hanks continued: "On the Suns side, Horry plays the 3 position. Although his ball-handling ability is the same as Finley's, he has enough height. The height of the power forward is dislocated at the 3 position. advantage, so he became another perimeter support point in addition to the Lightning."

  Bill Walton nodded and said: "This is very important. Without Pippen, Jordan and Ron Harper can't lock Lightning and Horry at the same time, which allows old K to get the support from the outside."

John Hanks said: "Yes, the old K attacked with all his strength, scored 41 points in more than three quarters, and hit 63%, which is higher than the last game with the Bulls, which shows that he dealt with Rodman's help defense. Already have the experience. In addition, he also divided some of his energy into defense and rebounding."

Bill Walton said: "If the old K doesn't defend, Jordan will smash his restricted area into a sieve, and if he doesn't grab the rebound, Rodman will steal the rebound. These two points are very important. In this kind of Under the circumstances, he can also hit an efficient 41 points, which is really too powerful.

   But this will consume a lot of his physical energy. Fortunately, there is Ben Wallace, who does the dirty work, who shares some of the pressure for him from defense to rebounding. "

  John Hanks said with a smile: "Ben Wallace, the undrafted pick, has improved a bit now. His defensive awareness is very strong, his defensive skills have improved, and his defensive experience is getting better and better."

"At the same time, he can also provide rebounding contributions for the team. The Suns signed him with a non-guaranteed contract, which is very cost-effective. I am sure that after this season, the Suns will send him a guaranteed contract. ." Bill Wharton laughed.

  John Hanks said: "Bill, it seems that Pippen's absence has had a really big impact on the Bulls!"

Bill Walton nodded and said: "Of course, the Bulls can beat the Suns on the court, relying on perimeter defense. Now that Pippen is not there, and the Suns used Horry to establish a second support point at the height of the 3 position, the Bulls can't The opponent is locked, and it is possible to reproduce the situation of the last finals.

But if Pippen comes back, with his defense, it will definitely destroy Horry's support point. Horry's ability to hold the ball is only average. After all, he is so high, and his ability to protect the ball will not be very good. At that time, the Suns' outside line It may still be locked, and relying on Horry will not solve the problem.

   Therefore, if the Bulls want to maintain their advantage over the Suns, they must ensure the health of the main players, especially on the outside. The Bulls have a chance to win only if they ensure that the outside defense can lock the Suns.

   In fact, the Bulls and the Suns are two completely opposite teams, one inside is the strongest, the other is outside the strong, they belong to each other restraint, who can complete the restraint of the other side, whoever is the winner. "

   nodded, John Hanks said: "Actually, comparing the lineups of the two teams, the two teams are similar. Whether it is offense or defense, they are similar."

Bill Walton laughed: "The Bulls' main lineup, Jordan is now averaging 33 points, Pippen is averaging 19 points, Clifford Robinson is averaging 20 points, Ron Harper is averaging only 8 points per game, about the same as Rodman. , The five main players have an average score of nearly 90 points per game, and their offensive ability is very strong.

   As for the Suns, the old K is now averaging 42 points, Lightning 18 points, Posen 12 points, Robert Horry, who started today, is similar, Ben Wallace is averaging 5 points per game, and the five main players are also averaging close to 90 points per game.

The main force is almost the same, and on the bench, the Bulls have the sixth man Tony Kukoc and Steve Kerr, who can get a total of about 22 points per game, the Suns have Wilkins, veteran Tisdai Ernest, as well as starting small forward Finley in front, outscored the Bulls' bench.

  John, in such a comparison, it seems that the Suns have a stronger lineup? "

  John Hanks said with a smile: "To simply compare the lineup, compare the data on paper, you can really say that. But you only count the offense, not the defense.

  If the Bulls lineup is complete, what can the Suns do on the outside? The last game proved that under the defense of the Bulls, the Suns were completely destroyed on the outside, the old K in the inside lost support, and the Suns were defeated, so it is useless to calculate the lineup on paper. "

   Bill Walton nodded and said: "So the Bulls must ensure that the lineup is complete, otherwise the result will be the same as this game."

At this time, John Hanks looked a little weird and said: "But, Bill, with this rebuilding lineup, the Suns can force the Bulls to play like this. If they pick one or two good outside rookies this year, Grow them up for a season or two, and the NBA is likely to usher in an era of the Suns."

   "It was the K era of old K."

Bill Walton corrected it, and then added: "O'Neal in the East was traded to the Knicks. In the future, the three super centers will grow old, and Jordan will grow old. The league will inevitably usher in a real era of behemoths, is it the K era, or is it In the fat age, it depends on the results of their competition."

   "O fat era? Haha..."

  John Hanks was amused by his partner's words, and at the same time many fans in front of the TV laughed.

   "This wicked bastard, what is the fat age?" New York, O'Neal said angrily.

   He is really angry, one fat ruins everything, obviously he has lost fat, and calling him fat again will affect his image, thus affecting his commercial value, and even he will be affected when he picks up girls.

  Mexican Arena, the timeout ends, the game resumes, and the Bulls attack.

   However, without Pippen, the Bulls could not lock down their opponents and ultimately lost the game.

   Back in the locker room, Phil Jackson gave a summary of the game and mentioned the health issues of the main players.

   He emphasized that Pippen has been injured for at least a month, other main players will have more playing time and more pressure, and the rotation needs to be strengthened to avoid more injuries.

  Jordan also realized that he can no longer compete with the old K for the team record. Once the injury problem occurs again, it is likely to affect the playoffs.

  The **** of old K is vying for the MVP. There is really no need to fight him in the regular season.

   On the other side, in the home team's locker room, the atmosphere is very good.

   Now the Suns are 40 wins and 5 losses, and the Bulls are 40 wins and 6 losses. The Suns played a small game and won more than half, officially ascending to the top of the league.

   "Double happiness is coming! No, it's three happiness! Climbing to the top, getting married, becoming a father, haha!" Old Wang was really happy and excited.

Next to   , Xiao Gaobin was also happy for Lao Wang, and the smile on his face never stopped.

  8, the Suns made persistent efforts to defeat the Nets at home and won the last game before the All-Star.

  This year's All-Star is in San Antonio. The 11th is the race day. On the 9th, Pharaoh and Colangelo arrived in Los Angeles.

  Because getting married here requires a priest or an American to be a witness and to sign, so he invited old Colangelo to be a witness.

   Yu Feihong and a large group of people from the martial arts hall drove a few cars to pick them up, as well as the manager Hoxman.

   In addition, because the news that he is going to register for marriage has been disclosed to the media by a group of teammates, a large group of media are also waiting for him at the airport.

   After finally dismissing the media, all the talents were able to leave the airport.

Hawksman had already made an appointment, rested at the hotel at noon, changed into his dress, and went to the government to apply for a marriage license with Yu Feihong in the afternoon. After completing the formalities, he got the marriage certificate, and then went to the Los Angeles Consulate General for certification. .

  The attentive Liu Changjiang helped him prepare a large package of wedding candy, which was sent up and down by the consulate general, and received a lot of congratulations.

   He also received numerous text messages of congratulations on his mobile phone, and he could only reply uniformly.

  Although it was only a registration and no wedding was held, he still booked a restaurant in the evening, opened dozens of tables, and invited a group of Chinese representatives from the Greater Bay Area who came to congratulate him, as well as some Hollywood stars with the best relationship.

On the 10th, he took Yu Feihong to San Antonio.

   Yu Feihong's physique is very good. He eats medicated food every day, and the pregnancy reaction is not very strong. There is no problem in flying.

   Arrived at the hotel, ready to rest before going to have lunch.

   Yu Feihong rested on the bedside, Lao Wang sat beside him and counted with his fingers, he was pregnant in October, and now in the first ten days of February, is that the end of the year?

   "God bless you, whether it's a man or a woman, don't be as stupid as you." Yu Feihong said helplessly.

   "Why am I so stupid?" he said in disapproval.

"I've been pregnant for more than a month now. It has to be counted from Christmas, not from now. Moreover, the pregnancy in October is a natural month with only 28 days, so the pregnancy period is only 280 days. It's early months, not ten months." Yu Feihong said angrily.

   Old Wang blushed, and hurriedly had to recalculate, Yu Feihong said, "In early October, around the National Day."

   "That's not bad, the new season just hasn't started yet." Pharaoh said happily.

   Yu Feihong said with a look of anticipation: "It would be great if the child was half as smart as the big sister and the second sister."

  Pharaoh has the intention to tell the difference, but after thinking about it, forget it, there is no confidence.

   "By the way, Xiao Fei, you can't call me the second sister. You have to call me the second sister. You can't call me randomly." He urged.

   Yu Feihong was startled and nodded.

   In the next two days, the All-Star Weekend began, and Pharaoh dealt with it casually, focusing on Feihong and renewing his contract with Mammoth.

Hoxman has reached an agreement with Mammoth. Mammoth boss Roman Weeks has hired several executives from Reebok and Nike with high salaries, reorganized the management, and established the brand K company for Wang Tiejun. Every pair of K series is sold. For sneakers, Pharaoh enjoys 66% of the profit dividend right.

  This is different from Jordan's, Jordan directly owns 4.5% of Nike's shares, which is more valuable.

   But being able to have two-thirds of the dividend right, this value is also very large. Mammoth is not at the end of the mountain, and will not give this condition easily.

   The biggest meaning of this dividend right is not how much money can be distributed every year, but as long as the brand exists, he can share dividends from it, not only the right to dividends for life, but also the right of inheritance, which his heirs can inherit.

   On the morning of the 11th, the two parties completed the contract.

Before signing the contract, Hawksman gave Pharaoh a detailed analysis. In 1995, the sales of K series sneakers reached 250 million US dollars. According to the current cost accounting, two-thirds of the profit dividend can reach two to two to half of the sales revenue. three percentage points.

   This money is already too little. The endorsement Iverson has just reached with Reebok is 50 million in ten years and five million dollars a year.

   And as his performance becomes stronger and stronger, the sales of the K series will further increase, and the annual dividend will also rise.

   If Mammoth's China factory is established in the future, it will be able to sell the K brand in China, and there will also be a large dividend.

   But Hoxman told Pharaoh that Jordan's MJ brand sales reached 500 million US dollars last year, and his K brand's market share is not high, only half of the MJ brand.

   "Don't be afraid, the country is thriving now, and my shoes will definitely be bigger in the domestic market in the future, and I won't earn less than Jordan." He said confidently.

   "Old K, are you so confident?" Hoxman said in surprise.

"certainly."

"why?"

   "Why, why won't our country's economy get better and better?" Pharaoh said arrogantly.

  “…”

  Hawksman is speechless and has no data to support it. I don’t believe it.

  …

  12th, after the All-Star Weekend, Wang Tiejun sent Yu Feihong back to Los Angeles, and asked his cousin Tian Xiaofen to take care of her. Yu Feihong will continue to go to school for the time being, depending on his physical condition.

   After the All-Star Game, the regular season continues.

  The Suns continued to go all out, while the Bulls increased their rotation efforts. At the beginning of the season, the Big Three Mosaic, who was rated by the media as being able to compete with the Bulls, continued to be half-dead.

   On the other hand, some teams are starting to rot. In order to win a good draw, they can lose the games that should not be lost with confidence, and the football market is a little bit reluctant.

   Among them, there is the green team Celtics.

  The time entered the end of February. At this time, the media suddenly broke out that Wake Forest University center Tim Duncan may participate in this year's NBA draft.

   This news blasted the entire league like a bomb.

  Tim Duncan, a junior in college this year, NBA legend and current general manager of the Lakers Jerry West once publicly stated before the 1995 draft that if Duncan is willing to participate in the draft, he will definitely become the No. 1 pick in 1995.

   Even in this year's draft year, almost all the media's predictions for Duncan's draft prospects are the lowest in the first round, sixth place, and will not fall after the sixth.

   "Great, we're going to have Duncan, from now on, let's go to hell." Boston, Cardinal Auerbach gave the order.

  Unfortunately, within two days, Tim Duncan, who was preparing for March Madness, publicly announced that he would not participate in the 1996 draft.

   "Next season, we're going to have a bad game." At the same time, at least half of the league's teams have made a bad decision.

Spurs, general manager Popovich also has the idea of ​​​​playing bad next season, but this still requires the cooperation of David Robinson and the cooperation of the coaching staff. His prestige in the Spurs is not high enough, and he cannot officially make it for the time being. Decide.

  Lakers, failed to grab Old K, and failed to dig O'Neal. Recently, the boss, Old Buss, was not satisfied with Jerry West's work ability, which put a lot of pressure on West.

   "Otherwise, next season will be blocked, right?"

   The jar was broken, and West suddenly had this idea, but he couldn't decide for a while, because the damage to the ball market was too great.

   (end of this chapter)